Little Girls (Oingo Boingo song)
| "Little Girls" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Oingo Boingo | |
| from the album Only a Lad | |
| B-side | "On The Outside" |
| Released | 1981 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:43[1] |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | Danny Elfman |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Little Girls" is a song by American new wave band Oingo Boingo and the opening track of their debut studio album Only a Lad.[1] It was released as a single in Australia.
Background
[edit]"Little Girls" was written by Danny Elfman after reading an article in a newspaper.[2] The song was written as a satire and has a strong punk influence, as well as a horn arrangement. When asked about the song's darkly humorous lyrics in 2010, Elfman replied:
What made me write it? At that point I was just grabbing onto things that popped up in my head and taking characters and singing from their point of view. ... So it didn't necessarily reflect me...but it was just fun and I knew it was irreverent. I was out to offend everybody.[3]
Elfman would reiterate this view in 2014, claiming that the song was an "in-your-face facetious jab."[2][3] Elfman has occasionally offered other explanations; in a 1985 concert he jokingly suggested that the song was about how his girlfriend was so "very, very little" that "she fits in the palm of [his] hand."[4][better source needed]
"Little Girls" was described by Creative Loafing Tampa as one of the standout tracks of Only a Lad.[5]
Music video
[edit]The music video, directed by Elfman's brother Richard, depicts Elfman in an empty house dancing with girls and people with dwarfism, followed by on-lookers (portrayed by other members of Oingo Boingo) staring vacantly as he walks down a street with an apparent underage girl. The video features set pieces strongly reminiscent of German expressionist filmmaking, such as that seen in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).[citation needed] It was originally banned in Canada[6] and was later named "the creepiest music video of all time" by The Independent.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Only a Lad - Oingo Boingo". AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ^ a b O'Neal, Sean (October 27, 2014). "Danny Elfman on Oingo Boingo, film scores, and the Beatles almost ruining Batman". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Hooton, Christopher (November 1, 2016). "What was the deal with Oingo Boingo's 'Little Girls', still the creepiest music video of all time?". The Independent. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ "Boingo at The Palace-Little Girls". Despina838. July 22, 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Echazabal, Gabe (June 19, 2017). "Today in rock history; Oingo Boingo and its "Little Girls," Ann Wilson is born, plus Carole King and the Four Tops storm the charts". Creative Loafing Tampa. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
- ^ Demos, John (June 29, 1990). "Johnny 'Vatos' Hernandez talks about Oingo Boingo". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. p. 14. Retrieved April 9, 2019.